The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

As a sales leader, you often need to revamp your sales structure to improve your sales team’s or department’s effectiveness.

That involves carefully studying your current sales structure to determine what works and what doesn’t. In today’s rapidly evolving selling environment, many sales leaders have realized the benefits of shifting from a retained sales structure to a growth sales structure.

There are myriad ideas and theories out there about what makes a great leader, and many are useful. They give some insight into those characteristics that define effective leaders—strategic thinking, strong focus, a sense of mission, passion for customers, innovation, hard work—the list goes on.

But there is one trait strong leaders often exhibit that is not often discussed. It is the innate ability to build powerful relationships with the people who work for them. It’s critical, and it correlates to long-term success for the leader for several reasons:

Companies that invest in sales training are considered 57% more effective than companies that don't. When it comes to selling a product or service, teaching workers sales training may be more beneficial than you thought.

Sales training is when you teach your employees skills and techniques for creating sales opportunities. When done correctly, sales training can boost your business' revenue. Failing to train your workers in adequate sales training can lead to negative customer experiences.

But it all comes down to this: How do you make sales training enjoyable for your workers?

Do you ever wonder what it would take to become a Sales Superhero? What would it take to bag every target account on your list?

Bruce Wayne trained for 12 years to cross the globe and learn martial arts and forensics. Doctor Stephen Strange trained for 4 years, but he had the forces of Kamar-Taj in his favor!

The Center for Sales Strategy firmly believes that you have a few innate sales traits (best discovered through our Sales Talent Assessment). And the rest you can build upon training and resources we have within your reach.

Over 13 million people work in sales and related occupations. Yet, not all salespeople are created equal — some of them are better at the job than others. What separates a good salesperson from a great one?

Mainly being able to get past sales objections.

There is no salesperson who won't come up against these objections, so knowing how to handle them can make or break the deal. Here's what you should do when you meet the inevitable.

On a coaching call last week, a manager and I were discussing a seller new to his team. On pulling up this person’s sales assessment, all I could think was, “WOW! Look at all that talent!” This person was strong across the board.

So much potential.

Unfortunately, this seller was definitely not reaching their potential. Struggling, not making budget, not willing to learn, and a poor attitude. So, what was happening? Why was this highly talented person struggling, and is coaching them worth the effort?

As a business leader, you're well aware of the fact that sales can make or break a company. Unfortunately, simply designing a great product or service won't lead to outstanding sales. 

Industry leaders today are focusing on a more psychological approach to boosting their sales. Read on to learn more about sales psychology and find out how you can use it to change the mindset of any buyer.

I wanted to title this blog "Top performers WANT to be measured, but poor or average performers NEED to be measured," but I was told that isn't a very strong title for click-throughs.

Nevertheless, I will continue with this blog despite my disappointment. 

As you know, your best salespeople want to be better!

• They want/need feedback.
• They want to know the score.
• They want to know how they compare to others.
• And they want to be measured so they can see how good they are compared to the rest of the team. 

Sales professionals know that cold email outreach is one of the most effective ways to land new clients. But, despite its effectiveness, many people are hesitant to try it because they don't know how to do it properly.

If you're one of those people, don't worry. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about cold emailing.

We'll cover the basics of creating a great cold email campaign, as well as some tips and tricks for increasing your chances of success.

If your sales meetings are typically focused on reviewing the budget pacing numbers and other housekeeping notes, then WOW are you missing a great opportunity. Sales meetings are a great place to do sales training or sales warm ups.

While most sales managers agree with this, they often share that one of the reasons they don’t do that sort of activity is because they don’t have time to prepare. Clients of The Center for Sales Strategy (CSS) often use one of the “sales meeting kits, ” but not everyone has that available to them. So, if you're looking for some content to enliven your next sales meeting, here are four TED talks that we recommend.